WITH ticket sales seriously below pre-Covid levels, a packed Christmas programme which attracts sell-out audiences could be a vital key to the future of Minehead’s Regal Theatre, executives of the charity company which runs the venue, warned this week.

Latest figures show it costs at least £250 a day to run the iconic building.

“We’re doing all we can to attract new audiences and entice back old friends,” said vice chair Monica Hartwell. “Our hope is that despite the downturn, together we will keep the theatre going for many more years. It’s simply too special to lose.”

She added: “As a charitable organisation - and in normal times - all income from ticket sales is ploughed back into the theatre, enabling us to maintain and update the building and reach out to the local community.

“The Covid pandemic and the challenging economic climate means that we’re now struggling to do this as, in common with theatres across the world, audiences are proving slow to return.”

Regal Theatre chair Victoria Thomas added: “Ticket sales are still nowhere near pre-Covid levels and on top of that, we now have the cost of living crisis to contend with and the immediate impact it is having on people’s lives, as well as the increased running costs of the theatre.

Victoria told the Free Press: “The fact that the Regal is entirely run by volunteers is an advantage on the one hand, as we don’t have staffing costs.

“But on the other hand it means that we don’t always have the specialist resources and skills readily to hand to meet the challenges facing us - it costs at least £250 a day just to run the theatre building.

She added: “We are working our very hardest to find our way forward and are hugely grateful to the Friends of the Regal, funding organisations, the local community, and our loyal audiences for their continued support.”

In a bid to attract full houses, the Regal countdown to Christmas begins with the Barnstormers’ Witness For The Prosecution, which ends on Saturday. Audiences are encouraged to dress the part in 1950s inspired outfits.

Film will include The Lost King, the true story of the search for the remains of Richard III, and a Saturday morning matinee of South Pacific on December 10 at 11am.

Family shows will include Santa Saves Christmas on December 4 - a live show ideally suited to two- to-seven-year-olds. On December 8, the Royal Ballet present their production of The Nutcracker, screened live from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

The Regal’s Christmas pantomime, Robinson Crusoe And The Pirates begins with a matinee on December 27 and continues until January 1.

Also confirmed for January, 2023, is a cinema exclusive screening of the King of the Waltz, Andre Rieu’s foot tapping concert in Dublin, (January 7), the Royal Ballet’s Royal Opera House screening of Like Water For Chocolate, (January 19), and on January 24, Cezanne: Portraits of a Life, an exhibition on screen, featuring narration by multi-award winning actor Brian Cox.

For more details, including ticket prices, volunteering or becoming a Friend of the Regal, visit www.regaltheatre.co.uk or call 01643 706430.